0 020 



Hollinger Corp. 
pH 8.5 



BT 215 
.D25 
1819 
Copy 1 



i 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



SERMON 



DELIVERED JULY 31, 1810, 
BEFORE THE HAVERHILL ASSOCIATION 
AND PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST. 



■WW WW WW www/w 



BY DANIEL DANA, A.M. 

PASTOR OF A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN NEWBURYPORT. 



■wwwwwwwwvWv 



SECOND EDITION WITH AN APPENDIX, 



CONTAINING SOME 



THOUGHTS ON THE TRINITY, 



NEWBURYPORT f 

PRINTED BY W. $ J. GILMAN, 

Booksellers and Stationers^ 
NO. 2, Middle-Street. 
1819. 




ADVERTISEMENT. 

THE present edition of this discourse appears at the suggestion of a 
large and respectable number of the author's parishioners and friends. 
Conscious that after the able discussion which the general subject has 
recently received, the discourse must have few attractions for most 
readers, he, at first, thought of attempting some material improvements, 
both in its plan and execution. But more mature reflection has deter- 
mined him to commit it to the candor of the public, nearly in its orig- 
inal dress. 

The " thoughts on the Trinity," which occupy the Appendix, are ex- 
tracted, with some variations, from a discourse which he recently deliv- 
ered on the subject. They are made public by request of the same 
gentlemen who subscribed for the republication of the sermon. 

Newburyport, 
Oct. 18, 1819, 



Yi 

% 



SERMON. 



ROMANS, ix. 5. 
CHRIST. .. . WHO IS OVER ALL, GOD BLESSED FOR EVER. 

THE subject which this passage brings to view* 
is most interesting. In the great business of religion, we 
have much, very much to do Avith Jesus Christ. We shall 
all soon appear before him, as our final Judge. To have 
some just knowledge of him, then, must be of infinite mo- 
ment. If Christ be a creature, those who treat him as 
God, are chargeable with idolatry. This all allow. If he 
be God, are those who degrade him to the level of a mere 
creature, in no danger of impiety ? — Let us, my brethren, 
feel the solemnity of the subject. Let us contemplate it 
with profoundest seriousness and humility. And may the 
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give us 
the spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of him- 
self, and of his dear Son ! 

Our text asserts the deity of Christ, in terms as strong 
and unequivocal, as language could well afford. That the 
Savior is man, is generally admitted. And this the Apos- 
tle virtually declares in the context ; for he represents 
him as descended, according to the flesh, from the Jewish 
nation. But, adds the Apostle, he has a nature infinitely 
superior to the human. He is " over all, God blessed for- 
ever." — I am sensible, indeed, that certain critics have at- 
tempted to wrest from us this inspired attestation of the 
Savior's divinity, by giving a different translation of the 
original text But in doing this, they have violated the 



4 



established rules of construction ; # and their labors have 
recoiled on themselves. This passage, however, is far 
very far from standing alone. The doctrine it contains, 
is familiar to the word of God. Let us attentively con- 
sult this holy Oracle, and obediently receive its unerring 
dictates. What I propose, is, 

I. Briefly to advert to some of the principal and most 
convincing proofs of the deity of Christ. 

II. To refute some of the leading objections which 
have been raised against this doctrine. 

III. To show that, considered in its aspects and con- 
nexions, it is a doctrine of peculiar importance. 

Without hesitation it may be affirmed, that no doctrine 
of the word of God is susceptible of fuller proof, ^han that 
of the Savior's deity. The evidence is even superabundant. 
Each argument which supports it, taken separately, is ab- 
solutely conclusive. And each receives additional light 
and force from a great variety of others. It might be 
distinctly shown, that the most sacred and appropriate 
names of Jehovah are, in scripture, frequently and famil- 
iarly applied to Jesus Christ. It might be shown, that 
the incommunicable 'perfections, and most stupendous ivorks 
of Deity, are abundantly ascribed to him. It might be 
shown, that he is represented as the proper object of re- 
ligious homage, and actually receives the worship, both of 
men and angels. It might be shown, that a great variety 
of passages in the old Testament, which by universal ac- 
knowledgment, refer to Jehovah, are, in trie new, unre- 
servedly applied to Jesus Christ.- — These arguments are 
among the most common, and the most convincing. But 
I shall wave a particular illustration of them, and confine 
myself to a single idea. It is this : that the moment the 
deity of Christ is denied, the most absurd and shocking 

* The method proposed, is, so to alter the pointing- and translation of the 
passage, as that it shall stand thus : Of whom, as concerning the flesh, 
Christ came, who is over all : — God be blessed for ever. To this it is, 
objected^ and on high critical authority, that in every other instance in which 
the expression, blessed be God, is found in the new Testament, the Greek 
article is used ; and tiie collocation is likewise different from that in the 
present passage. Indeed, so palpably does the rendering- suggested oppose 
the rules of legitimate criticism, that it is discarded by Socinus himself, 
See Dr. Macknight's remarks on the text. 



5 



consequences directly and inevitably follow. These con- 
sequences are various and almost endless ; though but a 
small portion of them can be distinctly specified. 

And first If Christ be not God, it is impossible for the 
most accurate and discerning reader to understand the 
true meaning and scope of the bible. It will be readily 
admitted, that one of the first requisites in a revelation 
from heaven, is, that it be perspicuous and intelligible; es- 
pecially on those great points which principally concern 
our faith, our worship, and our practice. If God be pleased 
to communicate himself to man, on subjects of everlasting 
moment, he will use a language which will not permit the 
honest and attentive enquirer to doubt of his real meaning. 
To suppose the contrary, would be to impeach at once 
the wisdom and benevolence of the Deity. In connexion 
with this remark, consider, my brethren, that it is a cap- 
ital and uniform feature of the bible, that it asserts the 
character, and vindicates the claims, of the one living and 
true God ; while it proscribes with detestation every form 
of idolatry, and every approach to it. Consider, likewise, 
that another feature equally prominent, is, that it aims to 
bring the highest possible honors to the Lord Jesus Christ ; 
to enthrone him m every heart ; to cause every knee to 
bow to his sceptre, and every tongue to celebrate his 
praise. What is the necessary inference from these two 
important and undeniable facts ?— It can be no other than 
this; that Jesus Christ is God. 

If he be not God, how can he be vindicated (I speak 
it with trembling) from the charge of encouraging idola- 
try; since, on various occasions, he not only willingly re- 
ceived, but explicitly claimed, the highest honors which 
men could pay ? — He constantly exhibited himself as the 
great object of 'faith ; a faith which it would have been 
impious to repose in a creature. For thus saith the Lord, 
Cursed he the man who trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his 
arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. — -He de- 
manded supreme love ;— and what more than this, was ev- 
er claimed by Jehovah himself? He required his disciples 
to be willing to do, to venture, and to suffer every thing, 
for his name's sake — the very demand which, both in sub- 



0 



stance and form, is frequently made in the old Testament, 
by that God who has declared, that he will not give his 
glory to another. — He claimed a sovereignty over the sab- 
bath. He claimed the church as his own. In a word, he 
represented himself as participating in the glory of his 
Father. The Son of man, said he, shall come in the glory 
of his Father* What creature ever dared prefer such 
claims, or utter such language ? Who could possibly do 
it, without impiety and blasphemy, but the coequal, coe- 
ternal Son of God ? 

If Christ be not God, the christian church is far less 
privileged than the church in ancient time. Then, good 
men put their trust in God, chose him as their felicity, 
consecrated themselves to his honor, and solaced them- 
selves in his care, as their compassionate Shepherd, their 
all-sufficient Friend. W T hat a sad falling away must it be, 
if this weighty charge, and these sacred honors, are de- 
volved on a creature ! How inferior the Christian, to the 
Jewish Church ! But who knows not that the doctrine of 
the scripture is the exact reverse of this ? Therefore 
Christ must be God. 

If Christ be not God, the generality of the Christian 
world have been in a gross delusion to the present day. 
It is undeniable, that the great majority of Christian be- 
lievers have viewed, honored, and depended on him, in 
this character. Is it probable, that the best men the 
world ever saw, should be permitted to fall into the direst 
and most destructive of errors ? Was all their trust repos- 
ed in a God ivho could not save ? Were all their consola- 
tions in life and death ; were all their transporting hopes 
of complete bliss in their Savior's presence, the offspring 
of mere enthusiasm and delusion ? 

If Christ be not God, Christians need constantly be cau- 
tioned, not against loving and trusting him too little, but 
against loving and trusting him too much. To give him a 
supreme affection, must be downright idolatry. To confide 
in him with unlimited reliance, must be folly and madness. 
It must be subversive of piety, and ruinous to the soul. 
Grant that as a Friend and Benefactor, he claims their ten* 

* See Dr. Jamieson's Vindication of the Scripture Doctrine, &c, 



der and grateful affection, still, on the supposition made, 
this tribute must be altogether different both in kind and 
degree, from that which they are bound to render to the 
Deity. It must fall as much below it, as a creature falls 
below the infinite Creator. What strange and novel doc- 
trine would this be ! How repugnant to every principle 
of revelation ! How grating, how insupportable to the 
feelings of every pious mind ! 

Finally ; let it be considered, that the moment we deny 
the proper deity of Christ, we make the scriptures speak 
a language perfectly discordant and self-contradictory. 
We make them speak of a created God; of a dependent 
being, as the Creator, Upholder, and Governor of the uni- 
verse ; of an eternal being, who once did not exist ; of a 
creature whom it is sin to worship, and perdition not to 
worship ; " of infinite perfections, and yet all derived ; of 
an omniscience which does not know all things, and an om- 
nipotence which cannot do all things." — My brethren, it 
must not, it cannot a moment be believed, that the book 
of God contains such gross inconsistencies and absurdities 
as these. — The consequence is, that Jesus Christ is truly 
and properly divine ; God over all, blessed for ever. 

I am now in the second place, to consider and refute 
some objections which have been raised against this doc- 
trine. In doing this, I shall endeavor to select, not the 
weakest, but the principal and most plausible ; those on 
which, so far as my information extends, their patrons 
have placed their chief reliance, for the support of their 
cause. 

Suffer me, however, to premise one remark. If the 
doctrine under consideration be established by competent 
evidence, no contrary reasonings can be of great weight. 
There are a multitude of truths which we firmly believe, 
against which, however, a subtle disputant might easily 
produce objections which we could not satisfactorily ob- 
viate. This remark, while it applies to almost every sub- 
ject within the compass of human thought, or observa- 
tion, applies with peculiar force to the doctrines of re- 
ligion. It deserves, therefore, to be constantly kept in 
mind, during the present discussion, 



8 



First Some think it a sufficient and conclusive objec- 
tion to this doctrine, that it is mysterious. But it is re- 
markable, that the inspired Apostle had a very different 
conception. Without controversy, says he, great is the 
mystery of godliness : God was manifest in the flesh. Here 
we see, that in the moment in which he admits the deity 
of Christ to be a mystery, a great mystery, he neverthe- 
less asserts it as a fact, and states it as matter of faith. 
He did not think that because it was mysterious, it was of 
course incredible. Nor can any one entertain this idea, 
who thinks soberly. The faculties of our minds are ex- 
tremely limited in their operations. Every day and hour, 
we are presented with objects which we cannot pretend 
completely to explain, or comprehend. Above us, and 
around us, mysteries constantly arrest our attention. To 
us, the works of creation, and the ways of providence, are 
equally and altogether unsearchable. Above all, " what 
a miracle to man, is man !" Who can explain the nature 
and operations of a soul ? Yet who so degraded, so stupi- 
fied, as to doubt whether he has a soul ? The connexion 
of our material and spiritual part, is wonderful indeed. 
How mental ideas are obtained through the medium of 
the bodily organs ; how, by an act of my will, I raise my 
hand ; how, by addressing words to your ears, I can ex- 
cite thoughts and emotions in your minds, is perfectly in- 
comprehensible. Yet who doubts the reality of these 
things, or of thousands beside, of a similar nature ? If all 
the works and ways of Deity, then, are mysterious ; if 
facts which constantly occur in the course of his provi- 
dence are mysterious ; is it not perfectly credible that his 
nature is much more so ? Especially, when a revelation is 
given us purposely to communicate such truths as our 
minds could never explore, may it not be expected that 
many of these truths will likewise be such as our minds 
can never completely grasp ?— The fact is, that neither 
the threefold distinction in the divine nature, nor the un- 
ion of deity and humanity in the person of Christ, is more 
incomprehensible than many things in natural religion, 
the truth of which all but atheists acknowledge. They 
are not more incomprehensible than the existence of a 
Being underived, eternal, and every where present. 



9 



A second objection against the deity of Christ, is this i 
that if it were a truth, it would have been more abundantly 
and explicitly declared in the sacred Scriptures. Espe- 
cially, it might have been expected that Christ himself, 
and his Apostles, would have clearly taught it. But the 
reverse of this, says the objector, is the case. In reply, it 
is granted, that it was the first and principal object, both 
of our Savior, and his Apostles, to establish his divine mis- 
sion and Messiahship. And why ? The moment that this 
point was settled, his deity followed of course. All who 
believed him to be the true Messiah, would believe him 
to be just such a person as the prophets foretold : and it 
is undeniable that they described him as a divine person* 
They spoke of him under the appellations of Jehovah, Je- 
hovah OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, JeHOVAH OF HOSTS, IlYIMANUEL, THE 

mighty God, the just God and Savior. YS hat ever, then, 
proved him to be the Messiah, proved him to be truly and 
properly God. There was no occasion for our Savion or his 
Apostles, to go into a labored proof of his essential dignity. 
They needed only to ascertain the person of whom the pro- 
phets wrote. Those who believed that Jesus of Nazareth 
was that person, might directly and undeniably infer his 
divinity. Hence we find our Savior giving this direction 
to the Jews : Search the scriptures ; for in them ye think 
ye have eternal life ; and they are they which testify of me* 
This observation is sanctioned by some of the most accu- 
rate divines. And it needs only to be kept in mind, in 
order completely to account for it, that the doctrine of 
our Savior's divinity is more sparingly taught by him and 
his Apostles, than some might have expected. But the 
fact is, that the objection is by no means true, in its full 
extent. Our Savior and his Apostles did not maintain 
that cautious reserve which has been stated, We have 
already seen that our Lord himself did, even while on 
earth, demand the homage of an implicit faith, a supreme 
affection, and an unlimited devotion. He asserted his 
property in the church. He claimed a sovereignty over 
the sabbath. He claimed a participation in the honors, 
the prerogatives, and the throne of his Father. No crea- 
ture could advance such pretensions without arrogance 

B 



10 



and impiety. We might add, that at his birth, he wa& 
expressly styled Immanuel, or God with us. At his bap- 
tism, a striking attestation was given to his divinity. In 
the course of his ministry, those names, perfections and 
prerogatives were attributed to him, which belong to none 
but Deity. In the epistles, his divine dignity is still more 
unequivocally and frequently declared. — In a word, I ap- 
peal to the reason and conscience of every thinking man, 
and ask ; if when our Savior is styled God, God mani- 
fest in flesh, God our Savior, the true God, the mighty 
God, God blessed forever ; if when he is represented as 

ALMIGHTY, OMNISCIENT, OMNIPRESENT ; the CREATOR, PRESERV- 
ER, and Judge of the world,- — men yet demand farther 
evidence, they do not act an unreasonable part ? If after 
all this, they remain unconvinced, must it Hot be from 
some other cause than the want of evidence ? 

Thirdly, It is objected, that the Scripture, speaking of 
Jesus Christ, in connexion with the Father, frequently ap- 
plies to him such expressions as signify inferiority and de- 
pendence. It declares, that the head of Christ is God ; 
that the Son does nothing of himself; that he does the work 
which the Father gave him to do ; that he conducts accord- 
ing to a commandment received from the Father ; that he 
does not know the day and hour of the last judgment ; and 
in a word, that the Father is greater than he. This objec- 
tion, my brethren, deserves a serious consideration ; and 
I shall endeavor, not to evade, but fairly to meet and dis- 
cuss it. One thing which obviously occurs in reply, and 
Which even those who urge it, must grant to be true, is this; 
that if these expressions imply an inferiority in Christ to 
the Father, expressions of an opposite kind occur not less 
frequently. He is expressly declared to be God, to be equal 
with God, to be one with the Father, and to know all things. 
Hence, then, it is clear beyond dispute, that the Scripture, 
in different parts, makes seemingly contrary declarations 
respecting Jesus Christ ; declarations in such a degree in- 
compatible with each other, that they cannot be true in 
the- same respect, and the same sense. Yet these seeming- 
ly contradictory assertions must be reconciled. And our 
adversaries are as much bound to effect this reconciliation 



11 



as we. Have they any scheme to accomplish it ? No : 
they do not so much as pretend to this. Those expres- 
sions which imply the Savior's inferiority to the Father, 
they construe in their literal and most extensive sense. 
But those which indicate his equality, they either explain 
away, or expunge from the bible. Can this be a suitable 
method of treating that holy book which was dictated by 
the infallible Spirit, and whose every word is eternal truth? 
It surely cannot. Some scheme must then be adopted, 
which will reconcile these apparently jarring texts. This 
scheme can be no other than that which considers Christ 
as combining two natures in his one person ; and likewise as 
acting in a subordinate office as Mediator. In this way, 
seeming incongruities are reconciled, and the Scripture 
appears worthy of its Author. Thus, and thus alone, 
each class of texts before mentioned, receives a natural, 
unforced construction. On this hypothesis, Christ is God ; 
and he is man, and Mediator. As God, he is equal and 
one with the Father. As man, he is inferior to him. As 
God, he knows all things. As man, he must be ignorant 
of many ; and even as Mediator, he may be said not to 
know them, in this sense ; that it is no part of his mediat- 
orial office and commission to make them known. He is 
God ; and therefore acts in all things from the dictates of 
his own sovereign pleasure. He is man, and Mediator ; 
and in these characters, receives and executes the com- 
mands of the Father. Let the advocates of any other 
scheme make the scripture speak a consistent language, 
if they can. 

Fourthly. It has been objected, that the very names of 
Father and Son imply the inferiority of the latter. We 
reply, that this is by no means clear; nor is it even prob- 
able. The sense usually attached to these expressions 
among men, does not apply here ; except in this regard, 
that the Son of God is of the same nature with the Father. 
But this, far from arguing inferiority, argues a real equality. 
It argues, not posteriority of existence, but self-existence and 
eternity. And the argument is strengthened when we add^ 
that the Jews understood Christ's calling God his Fatheu 
as a making of himself equal with God. They considered 



12 



the expression as blasphemous. They declared that 
chough a man, he made himself God, And as our Savior 
said nothing by way of retraction ; as he did not deny, that 
in claiming to be the Son of God, he made himself God, 
we cannot rationally doubt that this is the real import 
and force of the expression. 

Other scriptures, in the moment in which they re pre- 
sent Christ as the Son of God, exhibit striking and resist- 
less evidence of his equality with the Father. JVo one, 
saith Christ, knoweth the Son, hut the Father. In another 
passage, As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the 
Father. The former expression implies, that Christ is in- 
comprehensible by all creatures : the latter, that he knows 
the Father as perfectly as he is known by him. Both, 
therefore, strongly attest his divinity. Elsewhere he de- 
clares, that the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed 
all judgment to the Son. For what end ? That all men may 
honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. In the epis- 
tle to the Hebrews, the Father is represented as address- 
ing the " Son" in this style : Thy throne, O God, is forever 
and ever. Much critical ingenuity, and learned labor have 
been employed to torture the original of this text into a 
different meaning. But common sense revolts. And the 
passage, in its natural and just construction, affords decisive 
evidence of the true and eternal divinity of the Son. 

Fifthly. An objection against the deity of Christ has 
been drawn from that passage in the first epistle to the 
Corinthians, in which it is declared ; Then cometh the end^ 
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even 
the Father ; ivhen he shall have put down all rule, and all 
authority and power And when all things shall he subdu- 
ed unto him, then shall the Son also himself he subject un- 
to him that put all things under him, that God may be all 
in all But this passage doubtless has reference to the 
mediatorial kingdom of Christ, in distinction from the ab- 
solute kingdom of God, as Creator, This mediatorial king- 
dom, when all its interesting and glorious purposes shall 
have been accomplished, shall have an end. Christ will 
solemnly resign it into the hands of his Father ; and as 
man and Mediator, will explicitly subject himself to him. 



13 



But with much force and justice it has been remarked, 
that "Christ's delivering up the kingdom to God the Fa- 
ther, no more proves that he will, in all respects, cease 
to be a king, or to have any farther dominion, than the 
Father's delivering the kingdom to the Son, proves that 
the Father himself then ceased to be a king, and parted 
with his own dominion over all." Christ's essential king- 
dom, which he possesses as Cod, is interminable. Nor 
will he, in his human nature cease to wear the honors of 
his mediatorial offices and works, nor to appear as the 
glorious Head of that beloved Church which he has pur- 
chased with his blood. But after his great commission 
shall have been fulfilled and resigned, the Godhead, in- 
cluding the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, will be exhib- 
ited and glorified as all in all ; and without the interven- 
tion of a Mediator, will govern all creatures, and all 
worlds, for evermore. 

Sixthly. It has been objected to the deity of Christ, 
that in one instance, at least, he refused the ascription of 
divine perfection to himself, by replying to one who call- 
ed him "Good Master," "Why callest thou me good? 
There is none good but one ; that is God." But a mo- 
mentary attention to this passage may convince us that a 
contrary construction is far more natural. Our Savior 
doubtless considered the person addressing him as ascrib- 
ing a divine perfection to one whom he viewed as a mere 
creature. By this gentle rebuke, therefore, he seems to 
call upon him, either to retract his ascription, or be con- 
sistent and own him as God. The passage, therefore, far 
from invalidating the Savior's divinity, alfords a positive 
argument in its support. 

Seventhly. It may be thought by some, that our Savior's 
reply to the mother of Zebedee's children, is incompati- 
ble with his divinity. To her request that they might be 
permitted to "sit, the one on his right hand, and the other 
h on the left, in his kingdom," he is represented as answer- 
ing, " To sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not 
f mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is 
" prepared by my Father." — But the translation is, in this 
instance, erroneous ; and communicates an idea of which 



14 



there is no trace in the original. Let the words which 
our translators have supplied, and which are printed in 
italics be expunged ; and let the particle but be exchang- 
ed for except, (which is here the correct rendering) and 
we shall have the true meaning of the passage : — Such 
honor is not mine to give ; except to those for whom it is 
prepared by my Father, Thus it will be found, that our 
Savior does not disclaim the power of awarding the dis- 
tinguished honors and felicities of his kingdom ; but sim- 
ply declares the rule by which he will award them. These 
distinctions will be made in correspondence with the eter- 
nal counsels and appointments of the Father — a declara- 
tion which no wise derogates from his own divine digni- 
ty and glory.* 

* Learned Socinians, particularly of late, have multiplied comments on 
the original of the new Testament ; and industriously circulated the idea, 
that a more correct translation than the common, would give material 
strength to their cause. But the friends of the Savior's deity have little 
ground of alarm. Nor need they regret the critical zeal of their opponents. 
It has proved contagious. The spirit of investigation has extended itself; 
and truth can never suffer by investigation. Men of talents and learning- 
have pushed their researches far into the original languages of scripture, and 
into its distinguishing doctrines. The result is, that not only new proofs of 
the divinity of Christ have been discovered, but new sources of evidence have 
been laid open. As an instance, I feel myself impelled to mention some re- 
cent discoveries respecting the Greek article, made by Granville Sharp, 
a British writer. By a critical and laborious investigation of the uses of this 
article in the new Testament, he has discovered much new evidence of the 
divinity of Christ, in passages which are wrongly translated in the common 
version. One of his fundamental principles is this : that when two per- 
sonal nouns OF THE SAME CASE ARE CONNECTED BY THE COPULATIVE KAI, 
IF THE FORMER HAS THE DEFINITIVE ARTICLE, AND THE LATTER HAS NOT, 

they both relate to the same person. By the application of this simple 
principle, he has derived many clear and unanswerable testimonies to the 
divinity of Christ, from passages which, in the common translation, have 
rather a contrary appearance. I might instance in 2Thess. i. 12; which, 
according to the proposed and correct translation, stands thus : "According- 

to the grace of Jesus Christ, our God and Lord." And in Titus ii. 13 ; 

which should be read, M Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious ap- 
pearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." Mr. Sharp's gen- 
eral principles, and his mode of applying them, are sanctioned by the most 
eminent British critics and scholars ; and his publication is doubtless worthy 
of the most attentive perusal of every biblical student. 

Since the foregoing observations were penned (in 1310) the writer has seen 
Dr. Middleton's Doctrine of the Greek Article,, applied to the criticism and 
illustration of the New Testament, In this elaborate and learned treatise, 
the author, having amply investigated the uses ojf the Article in the Greek 
Classics, gives his full sanction to the views of Mr. Sharp ; as may be seen 
in the following remarks, made with particular reference to the principle, 
or canon cited above : u Having investigated.," says he, " the canon, and 



15 



I will name bat one objection more. It is drawn from 
the reply of our Savior to the Jews who charged him with 
blasphemy in making himself God. " Is it not written," 
saith he, " in your law, I said ye are gods ? If he called 
them gods, to whom the word of God came, and the scrip- 
ture cannot be broken ; say ye of him whom the Father 
hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphem- 
est, because I said, I am the Son of God ?"— Some would 
have it thought that our Savior, in this passage, claims a 
sort of metaphorical divinity, such as belonged to the Jew- 
ish magistrates ; and that he entirely disclaims every oth- 
er. But such a construction is superficial and unmeaning. 
The true construction is probably this. The Jewish mag- 
istrates were types of Christ. Their authority in the 
church was a faint emblem of his. Hence they were de- 
nominated gods. " The scripture cannot be broken 
therefore types must have their antitypes. " How dare 
you then," the Savior seems to say, " charge blasphemy 
on me, for asserting my equality and oneness with the 
Father ; since I am the true Messiah, divinely set apart, 
and sent into the world ; and thus the antitype of those 
types ; the substance of those shadows ; and all that in 
reality, which they were but in name and representation"* 
Here, then, instead of a renunciation of our Savior's claims 
to divinity, we have an explicit, a forcible and public a- 
vowal of them. But I pass to shew, 

In the third place, that this doctrine of the deity of 
Christ, considered in its aspects and consequences, is a doc- 
trine of great importance. This is a most interesting part 
of the subject, and would afford ample scope for a sermon. 
But I must restrain myself; and offer a few hints only, on 
which your meditations will easily enlarge. 

The opposers of the Savior's divinity, especially in mod- 
ern times, are prone to represent the doctrine as merely 

" having- explained the ground of its limitations and exceptions, I may be 
" permitted to add, that Mr. Sharp's application of it to the New Testament* 
11 is in strict conformity with the usag-e of Greek writers, and with the Syn- 
" tax of the Greek tong-ue ; and that few of the passages which he has cor- 
rected in our common version, can be defended, without doing- violence 
" to the obvious and undisputed meaning- of the plainest sentence* whicfe 
" profane writers supply." 

* See Dr. Guyse in loco, 



16 



speculative ; and, even in that view, of comparatively lit- 
tle importance But we cannot, without being unfaithful 
to the cause of truth, refrain from remarking, that in what- 
ever light it is considered, it appears a doctrine of prima- 
ry importance and interest. Nor would it be difficult to 
show, that it has an influence on every part of experimen- 
tal and practical religion. — We might remark, 

In the first place, that it affects the very foundations of 
christian faith and hope. It cannot be a matter of small 
moment whether the object of our confidence, the founda- 
tion on which we build our eternal hopes, is a creature, or 
the infinite God. If the Savior be not divine, where is our 
atonement? Where our justifying righteousness ? Where 
the grace we need to conquer our corruptions, to sustain 
us in death, and carry us triumphantly through it ? What 
satisfying evidence can we have that he is an adequate, as 
well as a suitable Savior ? What evidence, that he will 
not fail us in the last extremity ? An apostle could say ; 
1 know whom I have believed ; and I am persuaded that he 
is able to keep that which I have committed to him against 
thai day. . Every christian may say the same, if he has 
evidence that he in whose hands he has deposited an im- 
mortal soul, is divme ; but not otherwise. The best and 
greatest of creatures may disappoint his hope. The only 
wise God, and he alone, is able to keep him from falling, 
and to present him faultless before the presence of his glory 
with exceeding joy* 

Farther ; it is well known that love to God, and a grate- 
ful sense of his love in our redemption, are represented in 
Scripture as the ruling passions of the Christian's bosom, 
and the great, prompting principles of his conduct. Were 
it possible that a creature could redeem us, and had it pleas- 
ed God to provide such a creature, the favor would be 
great indeed : but it is difficult to perceive how it could 
deserve those exalted encomiums, those enraptured cele- 
brations, of which the Scripture is so full. How could it 
be conceived such a sublime and stupendous mystery, that 
the great supreme, who, by a word, could call into being 
millions of the most excellent creatures, should give one 

* Jude, 24,. 25. 



17 



of this description, to redeem and save a world ? How- 
could this love be properly styled love that passes know- 
ledge 6 ? How could it be represented as having lengths, 
and breadths, and depths, and heights absolutely immeas- 
urable ? And with what propriety could it be argued, that 
because God has not withheld such a creature, therefore 
he will certainly give us all things ; all the blessings of 
grace and glory, of earth and heaven ? But if we suppose 
that the Redeemer is the Son of God, infinitely superior 
to all creatures, we are ushered at once into a new world. 
We perceive the meaning and force of those Apostolic 
expressions : In this was manifested the love of God towards 
tis, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the 
world, that we might live through him* Herein is love, not 
that we loved God, hut that he loved us, and sent his Son to 
be the propitiation for our sins. At such a thought, what 
heart does not kindle into the liveliest ardors of love? 
What bosom does not heave with inexpressible emotions 
of gratitude to the condescending Redeemer, the divine 
Philanthropist ? Who is not ready to breathe out the 
poet's animated strains : 

Talk we of morals ? O thou bleeding Love t 
Thou maker of nevj morals to mankind ! 
The grand morality is love to thee ! 

Again ; Christ is continually exhibited as the great ob- 
ject of our obedience ! He died for all, that they ivho live, 
shoidd not henceforth live to themselves, but to him who died 
for them, and rose again. Now if he who thus claims our 
unlimited obedience and devotion, is God, all appears 
natural, and fit, and proper. If Jesus is divine, he is an 
adequate object of our obedience. And surely, by stoop- 
ing from heaven to earth, to redeem and save us, he has 
obtained the strongest possible claims upon our entire and 
everlasting devotion. But if he were a creature, would 
not the very demand of such homage be erecting the stan- 
dard of rebellion against the Majesty of heaven and earth? 
Could we comply with the demand, without being guilty 
of the grossest idolatry ?— without impiously robbing our 
Creator and our God of his inalienable right ? 

C 



18 



In a word; the employment and bliss of heaven are 
frequently represented in Scripture as consisting in prais- 
ing, glorifying and enjoying Jesus Christ. " Father, I 
will," (this is his own prayer) " that they whom thou hast 
64 given me, be with me where 1 am, that they may behold 
my glory." Agreeably, the Apostle Paul expresses an 
ardent desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which he 
feels is Jar better than to be here. And saints who have 
taken leave of mortality, are described, in the Revelation, 
as beholding the face of the Lamb forever, and bearing his 
name in their foreheads. They are described as singing 
the new song : " Thou art worthy to take the book, and 
to open the seals thereof : for thou wast slain, and hast 
redeemed us to God by thy blood." Upon this, millions 
of angels, as if unwilling to be outdone in giving glory to 
the Red eemer, sing, in solemn response : u Worthy is the 
Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and 
wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." 
The redeemed then resume their enraptured celebrations. 
" Blessing, and honor t and glory, and power, be unto Him 
that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever 
and ever." " What words," says an excellent Commenta- 
tor, 64 could more fully and emphatically declare, that 
Christ is and ought to be worshipped, equally with the 
Father, by all creatures, to all eternity ? Will any one r 
after reading this, assert that he is a mere man, or a cre- 
ated being; or that it is idolatry to worship him?" What 
we would particularly remark, however, is this ; that such 
an employment must be perfectly congenial and delight- 
ful, it must afford an everlasting gratification, to those who 
have learned to view Christ as God, to love him as God, 
to trust him as God, to adore him as God, and expect 
their felicity from him as God. But is it not a serious ques- 
tion, whether those who deny the Savior's divinity, are 
prepared for this felicity ? Could they relish it ? Were 
they even admitted within the walls of the new Jerusa- 
lem, must they not be dumb, having never learned a note 
of the new and everlasting song, sung by the redeemed of 
the Lord ? — But I forbear ; and close the subject by a 
few reflections* 



19 



First If Christ is truly and properly God; if this doe- 
trine is as clear in its evidence, and as important in its 
connexions and consequences, as we have seen, then it 
follows, that every opposite doctrine is a great and dan- 
gerous error, indeed to rob the Redeemer of divine hon- 
or and glory, is not merely a great error, but a great sin. 
If those who do this, should find themselves at last in a 
mistake ; if, instead of coming for their final destiny to the 
bar of a creature, they should come before the omniscient 
and almighty God, how great must be their consternation! 
It is not for mortals to anticipate the sentence of that tre- 
mendous day. Still, for all of the character described, we 
may well tremble ; we may well drop a tear. We have 
much reason to apprehend, that they have little acquaint- 
ance with themselves ; and but faint impressions of the evil 
of sin, and of the purity and majesty of that God whom it 
offends. Should the divine glory flash on their minds ; 
should they obtain that painful, but necessary knowledge, 
the knowledge of their own guilt and pollution, must they 
not perceive, must they not jeel, that they need an infinite 
Savior ; and are undone without one ? In the mean time, 
who can sufficiently regret, that a doctrine so essential in 
the Christian scheme, so important to the life and power 
of religion, should meet with such increasing neglect and 
opposition in our land. In this favored land, once distin- 
guished for the purity of its faith and practice, it has be- 
come common, deplorably common, to doubt, to deny, to 
ridicule the divinity of the Lord ivho bought us. Unweari- 
ed efforts are made to pour contempt on those doctrines 
on which our Fathers built their hopes in life, and in 
death ; and to give currency to a superficial, unmeaning, 
lifeless religion, which has little of Christianity, beside 
the name. Thus is moral poison diffused through a 
thousand channels. Thus are the best and dearest inter- 
ests of immortal creatures sported with. Thus are open- 
ed the sluices of absolute infidelity. — Take away the de- 
ity of Christ; and you remove the main pillar which sup- 
ports the fabric of Christianity. Soon his atonement is de- 
nied, his intercession disregarded, the evil of sin thought 
lightly of, and eternity forgotten. Men live and die wit!> 



20 



out God, and without hope ; heathens with christian names ; 
and principally distinguished from heathens unchristianiz- 
ed, by a vast accession of guilt.* — My reverend Fathers 
and Brethren; if we have any regard for the honor of 
our Redeemer, or the souls of men, we shall not be silent, 
or inactive at such a time. We shall boldly stand up for 
the truth. We shall w^atch and guard against the thous- 
and nameless arts and efforts of error and irreligion. 
We shall especially oppose ourselves with vigor to those 
false doctrines which aim at the very vitals of Chris- 
tianity, and thus threaten to spread moral death and 
desolation all around. Let us be thankful that w r e have 
a divine Savior to preach — a Savior not only suitable, 
but all-sufficient for the wants and woes of our dying 
fellow-creatures. And let it animate us to think, that 

* Seriously entertaining- these apprehensions respecting- the tendency of 
antitrinitarian doctrines, and the aspects of the present time, I have thought 
it a sacred duty, however painful, to express them. Many, I doubt not, who 
from one cause or another, may inciine to think less unfavorably of the doc- 
trines in question, are candid enquirers after trutl* Some, it may be hoped, 
who have actually embraced them, have neither in speculation traced them 
into their pernicious consequences, nor in practice exhibited their corrupting- 
effects. Should a single person of either description, be induced by any 
thing suggested above, to pause and contemplate the subject in the light of 
truth and eternity, the writer will be amply rewarded ; nor will he much re- 
gret the charge of narrowness and big-otry which will doubtless by many be 
attached to this undisguised exposure of his views and feelings. 

A much more particular explanation might have been given, of the senti- 
ments designed to be opposed ; as likewise of their congeniality with the cor- 
ruption of the human heart, and their consequent tendency to cherish, to 
confirm and increase that corruption. But this would have protracted the 
sermon to an immoderate length. The following just and striking remarks 
on the subject, extracted from the Evangelical Magazine r are calculated to 
supply the deficiency ; and they are recommended to the serious attention of 
every reader. May they operate as an effectual caution against the errors 
reprobated ! 

" To consider the Redeemer as a mere fallible and peccable man 

to reject salvation by grace, the atonement of the Savior, and the influences 
of the Spirit— to affirm the merit of supposed virtue, while at the same time 
its standard is reduced extremely low- — to represent sin as an evil infinitely 
less, both in its guilt, and its demerit, than serious Christians universally 
consider it — to represent the future consequences of sin as inexpressibly less 
tremendous than the scriptures at least seem to describe— cannot but be most 
agreeable and welcome to the haughty, the self-enamored, the worldly-mind- 
ed, the lover of a little decent dissipation, the man who is striving to soot;h a 
disturbed conscience, the unfledged youth who is exquisitely delighted with his 
fancied superiority to vulgar prejudices, and the semi-infidel, who is too well 
instructed, to be able to reject the argumentative evidences of divine R.eveia^ 
tion!" 



21 



while we preach his unsearchable riches, he will afford us 
his ail-gracious presence to support, to cheer, to prosper, 
and to bless us. 

Secondly. The doctrine of the deity of Christ strikingly 
displays the guilt and danger of those who live in habitual 
neglect of him, and opposition to his gospel. It is an a- 
larming thought, that as his dignity, excellence and glory 
are infinite and indescribable, their sin and perverseness in 
treating him thus, are proportionate. In rejecting Jesus 
Christ, and his offered salvation, they practically despise 
the eternal God; they trample on his well-beloved and 
equal Son, and seem determined to work their dismal way 
to destruction, through his tears, and wounds, and blood. 
This is no tragic representation. It is grounded on the 
express declarations of Scripture. Let every impenitent 
sinner think of this. At the same time, let him think of 
that glorious, and awful day, when the Savior will be re- 
vealed as the Judge ; and when the wicked will be ready 
to think even perdition light, could they but avoid his 
flaming eye, his insupportable frown. Think of that day 
when the kings of the earth, and the great men, the rich, 
the prosperous, and the proud, shall say " to the moun- 
tains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of 
him who sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the 
Lamb ; for the great day of his wrath is come ; and who 
shall be able to stand ?" 

Finally. This great doctrine of the deity of Christ 
speaks a language of encouragement and consolation to 
the trembling and desponding soul. Are there those who, 
prest with depravity and guilt, can scarce believe that 
the mercy of the gospel can ever reach them, or that they 
have any concern in its invitations ? Let them think a 
moment whose this mercy, and these invitations are. O 
sinners ! look to Jesus. He is the Savior you want. Were 
he less than God, you might well despair. But banish 
the disheartening thought. He is God all-sufficient ; there- 
fore he is mighty to save. His person is divine ; there- 
fore his atonement is infinite ; his blood can cleanse from 
crimes red as crimson, or black as hell. He is God ; he has 
therefore infinite compassion and patience to bear with 



22 



creatures the most guilty and provoking, and to save them 
forever. He is God ; and can subdue your strongest cor- 
ruptions, your most inveterate foes. He is God unchange- 
able ; nothing therefore shall ever separate those who 
trust in him, from his love. Like a God, he pardons ; 
like a God, he comforts, blesses and saves. O come ; lay 
your guilt at the foot of his cross. Commit your precious, 
perishing souls to his hands. Believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and you shall never perish. You shall have a 
friend in death. The almighty Savior, the compassionate 
Shepherd, will go with you through that dismal vale. 
And having past the terrors and the gloom, you shall 
come forth into the light of his countenance, and adore, 
and celebrate, and enjoy his love forever. You shall sing 
the song, which angels cannot sing, to him who loved you, 
and washed you from your sins, in his own blood. 



APPENDIX. 

THOUGHTS ON THE TRINITY. 

IT is of the first importance that the ideas 
which our minds form of the Deity, be agreeable to truth. 
As our God, so the whole of our religion. Imperfection, 
indeed, must necessarily be attached to all our conceptions 
of the High and Lofty One. Yet, if regulated by the 
standard of his word, they will be free from positive er- 
ror. Consulting the inspired volume, we learn to correct 
those gross and unworthy conceptions of the Divinity, 
which we are too prone to entertain. We discover that 
he is a glorious Spirit ; eternal and immutable ; self-exist- 
ent and independent ; omniscient and omnipotent ; filling 
the universe with his presence ; and utterly incompre- 
hensible by all created minds. We learn too, that these 
natural perfections are attended by the most consummate 
wisdom; by a perfection of justice, purity and truth; by 
a benevolence boundless, inexhaustible, and in its exer- 
cises infinitely diversified. That there is a Supreme Be- 
ing, clothed with these venerable and lovely attributes, is 
a prime dictate of nature and reason. But the Bible un- 
folds to view a mystery in the Deity, to which nature and 
reason are total strangers ; a mystery which the mind of 
man, unaided by revelation, would never so much as have 
suspected. This mystery is a Trinity of persons in the 

UNITY OF THE GoDHEAD. 

That the great Author of all things is one, is a fundamen- 
tal truth of natural religion. It cannot, indeed, be asserted 
that mankind, if left to themselves, would generally make 
this interesting discovery. What reason dictates, is one 
thing. What fallen creatures, depraved in all their fac- 
ulties, will, without supernatural aid, discover, is another 



24 



thing. The deplorable fact is, that nations unenlighten- 
ed by revelation, have been, almost without an exception, 
polytheists. They have given their worship to a variety 
of imaginary and false deities. If, here and there, a phi- 
losopher reasoned out the truth, and dared dissent from 
the vulgar opinion, his reasonings appeared in the form of 
conjecture, rather than of certainty. We needed a Rev- 
elation, to call us back to one of the plainest principles of 
reason and natural religion. The very fact that the book 
of God gives such emphatic and reiterated instruction up- 
on this point, proves that we needed it. And when the 
Bible has informed us that there is but one God, we can 
perceive that the doctrine is rational. We can demon- 
strate that the contrary doctrine is absurd and self-con- 
tradictory. 

All who are acquainted with the sacred volume know 
that the Unity of the Godhead constitutes one of its dis- 
tinguishing and prominent features. Hear, O Israel, says 
the great Hebrew prophet ; the Lord our God is one Lord. 
In the new Testament, our divine Teacher quotes and 
enforces the same sublime declaration. By his prophets 
of old, the Most High abundantly inculcated upon his 
people this fundamental and interesting truth. / am the 
Lord ; that is my name ; and my glory will 1 not give to an- 
other. —There is no God beside me, a just God, and a Savior ; 
there is none beside me. — That they may know, from the 
rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none be- 
side me : I am the Lord, and there is none else. Before me 
there was no God formed ; neither shall there be after me. 

Thus it appears from the united suffrage of reason and 
revelation, that God is one. We are now to contemplate 
this one living and true God as subsisting in THREE 

PERSONS. 

It is well known that the use of the word person, in 
this case, has been strongly opposed. Nor needs it be 
dissembled that such an employment of the term is en- 
cumbered with some real difficulties. That it cannot sus- 
tain precisely and fully the same meaning, in the present 
case, as in its ordinary use among mankind, is readily ad- 
mitted. Nor would we be very strenuous in contending 



25 



for a mere term. Still, if there is a distinction in the di- 
vine nature, which is explicitly, frequently and familiarly 
brought to view in the sacred Oracles ; if the Bible, while 
it abundantly asserts that God is owe, does likewise abun- 
dantly bring' to view a Son, and a Holy Spirit, as well as 
a Father; if to each of these it ascribes the names, the 
perfections, the works, the worship, the glory of Deity ; 
if, both expressly, and by direct implication, it represents 
them as equal in honor, and in power; if to each it assigns 
a distinct office and agency in the great work of human 
redemption — then it is obviously fit that the distinction 
be recognised. If it is recognised, it must likewise be 
described. And if, through the poverty of language, no 
terms can be found, which are completely appropriate to 
the subject, those must be selected, which are best calcu- 
lated to place it before the mind. In the case before us, 
the word person, though not wholly free from objection, 
is perhaps the best that can be employed, to express the 
distinction in the divine nature, to which we refer. In its 
ordinary acceptation, and in the present, it denotes one 
possessed of reason, intelligence and will; one capable of 
thinking, speaking, sending, and other personal acts ; and 
likewise capable of sustaining and executing personal of- 
fices. In a word, it is a decisive indication of a person, to 
be susceptible of the application of one of the personal 
pronouns ; and this, not merely in a figurative, but a proper 
and literal sense. Still, let it be carefully remembered, 
that as there is an infinite distance between the divine 
nature, and the human, so there is a correspondent differ- 
ence between a divine and a human person. Human per- 
sons, for instance, are separated, one from another ; where- 
as the persons in the Godhead, though distinguished by 
appropriate characters, are totally and for ever insepara- 
ble. Human persons have likewise a common nature, 
which is specifically the same in all ; but each has not the 
same individual nature with the other ; whereas when the 
persons in the Godhead are said to have the divine nature 
and perfections, it is meant that this is the same individ- 
ual nature in all. The essence and perfections of the 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are numerically the same. 

D 



26 



Again ; every human person is a distinct being. As many 
persons as there are, so many distinct beings. But all the 
divine persons are one Being. The Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit are one God. # , 

With these limitations and exceptions, which are some- 
what obvious, and distinctly marked, we scruple not to 
apply the term person to a distinction in the divine nature, 
concerning which we acknowledge that, in many respects, 
it not only eludes all our attempts at definition, but trans- 
cends our highest conceptions. 

If we are asked, why we employ a term which is con- 
fessedly so inadequate to represent the thing intended, 
we reply, that the necessity of the case justifies and re- 
quires it. In perusing the Scriptures we think we per- 
ceive in the Deity a distinction which, however mysteri- 
ous and inexplicable in its nature, is clearly marked in 
point of fact — a distinction much beyond that of mere at- 
tributes, or relations, or modes of operation — a distinction 
which pervades the whole system of human redemption 
and salvation, and which communicates its own peculiar 
complexion to every part. This distinction we cannot 
overlook ; and we dare not conceal. We are constrained 
to speak of it. In speaking of it, we use a mode of ex- 
pression which, we are conscious, falls short of the sub- 
limity of the subject ; but which, in this imperfect state 
of the human mind, and of human language, we believe is 
one of the nearest approaches to it. If in this we err, we 
trust in the boundless mercy of that Being whose perfec- 
tions we would adore and celebrate, to pardon our invol- 
untary error. In the mean time, we would preserve our 
minds open to conviction. We would rejoice to have our 
conceptions on this mysterious theme, refined and sublim- 
ated by the researches of our more favored Christian 
brethren. Should any of them furnish us with a phrase- 
ology more adapted to the case, and more free from ob- 
jection, than that which we are accustomed to employ, 
we will cheerfully adopt it, to the exclusion of our own. 
Should we ever arrive at a world of light, our concep- 

* See Dr. Ridgley's Body of Divinity. 



27 



tions on the subject will, we doubt not, be greatly enlarg- 
ed and elevated. At present, we must be content with 
those humble modes of conception, and of expression, which 
our imperfect faculties, and imperfect condition supply. 

But though we dare not, even with the Bible in our 
hands, undertake completely to explain or comprehend 
the persons of the ever-blessed Trinity, we can satisfac- 
torily ascertain another point, whose practical importance 
is even superior. We can clearly perceive the distinct 
offices sustained and executed by the Father, Son and 
Holy Spirit, in the redemption of a lost world. 

The Scripture represents the Father as the prime Agent 
in creating, preserving, redeeming and saving the sinners 
of mankind. From his everlasting love and overflowing 
compassion for guilty men, he devised a scheme for their 
recovery ; he sent his only begotten Son into our world, 
to act the Mediator's part ; and he sends the Holy Spirit 
to make effectual application of redemption to all the heirs 
of mercy. The Son is described as given and sent by the 
Father, to assume our nature, and die for our redemption. 
He sustains and executes, in behalf of his people, the offi- 
ces of Prophet, Priest and King, and thus saves them from 
sin, and all its deleterious consequences, and brings them 
to everlasting blessedness. The Holy Spirit is represent- 
ed as sent by the Father and the Son, to reprove a guilty 
world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment ; to renew and 
sanctify the hearts of the redeemed ; to help their infir- 
mities, to comfort their sorrows, to guide them into all 

truth, and seal them to the day of redemption. To 

express the matter still more briefly : the Scripture as- 
cribes Election to God the Father, Redemption to God 
the Son, Regeneration and Sanctification to God the Holy- 
Spirit. Thus each person of the adorable Trinity con- 
descends to employ a distinct agency in effectuating the 
salvation of men. 

But it is time that we should more explicitly subject 
the doctrine of the Trinity to the test of the Bible. This 
we would do with the utmost simplicity. For we readily 
confess that the only question of real importance in the 
case, is this : What saith the Scripture ? If the doctrine 



28 



will not bear this test, let it fall, though supported by the 

most revered names of ancient and modern times. But 
if sanctioned by the word of God, let it stand, though as- 
sailed by the united wit and wisdom of the world. 

That the Father is a divine person, all admit. The 
question, then, to be decided, is, whether the Bible, con- 
strued in its natural and unperverted sense, represents the 
Son and Holy Spirit as divine persons also ? 

What does it affirm respecting the Son? 

It declares, "In the beginning was the Word; and the 
" W ord was with God, and the Word was God." It styles 
Jesus Christ, " Alpha and Omega ; the First and the 
*' Last ;" the " King of kings, and Lord of lords." In the 
very moment in which he is denominated the " Child 
" born," and the " Son given," he is declared to be " the 
"Mighty God," and "the Everlasting Father." Else- 
where he is styled "God with us;" "God manifest in the 
"flesh;" "God our Savior;" "the true God;" "the only 
" wise God;" "God blessed forever." In the language of 
the old Testament, he is called, "Jehovah;" "Jehovah 
" of hosts;" "Jehovah our righteousness," — Here, if any 
where, are the appropriate and incommunicable names 
of Deity. 

Our Savior addressed to the Jews, this remarkable de- 
claration : " Before Abraham was, I am." Agreeably, he 
is described in prophecy, as one " whose goings forth have 
" been of old, from everlasting." " Jesus Christ" is " the 
" same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever." "The heavens 
" and the earth shall perish ; they shall wax old as a gar- 
" merit ; but" he is " the same ; and" his "years shall 
" not fail." " All power in heaven and earth" is his ; and 
his is that almighty and resistless energy by which " he is 
" able to subdue all things to himself." He " knows all 
" things ;" and " ail the Churches shall know that" it is 
" he who searches the reins and the hearts." He has 
promised to be with his disciples and his ministers " al- 
" way, even to the end of the world." And in every part 
of our extensive globe, " where two or three are gather- 
" ed together in his name, there" is he " in the midst of 
" them."- — Here are the characteristic perfections of Deis 



29 



ty; eternity, immutability, almighty power, omniscience 
and omnipresence. 

Of the same glorious Person it is declared that 44 all 
44 things were made by him ; and without him was not any 
44 thing made, that was made." 4w By him were all things 
44 created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visi- 
44 ble and invisible— all things were created by him, and 
44 for him." Not only so ; 44 he upholds all things by the 
44 word of his power," and 44 by him all things consist." 
He is 44 Lord of all." He is 44 Head over all things to the 
"Church." "His dominion is an everlasting dominion." 
He is 44 the Judge of quick and dead;" 44 for the Father 
44 judge th no man; but hath committed all judgment to 
44 the Son." — —Here are the peculiar and distinguishing 
works of God ; the creation, conservation and govern- 
ment of the world; and the dispensation of the final 
judgment. 

In fine ; it is the declared will of the Father, 44 that at 
44 the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in 
44 heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." 
It is his requirement that 44 all the angels of God should 
44 worship him ;" and that on earth, 44 all men should honor 
44 the Son, even as they honor the Father." — Therefore, 
whatever honor or worship has been claimed or received 
by Jehovah, is due to Jesus Christ. 

If now we should institute a similar process of enquiry 
respecting the Spirit, the general result would be the 
same. It would be found that to the Spirit, the Scripture 
frequently and familiarly ascribes the incommunicable 
names and perfections, the appropriate works and wor- 
ship of the Deity. 

I am aware that most Antitrinitarians deny that the 
Spirit is a real person. They construe the term as denot- 
ing a mode of divine operation ; or at most, an attribute of 
Deity ; such as his wisdom, or his power. But is it not un- 
deniable that the Scripture constantly represents the 
Spirit as a conscious, living Agent, possessing personal 
properties, and performing personal acts ? Is it not pal- 
pably absurd to speak of an attribute as speaking, com- 
manding, forbidding, approving ; or as being vexed, or 



30 



grieved ? Yet all these things are predicated of the Spirit. 
He is then a person, and not a mere abstract quality, or 
mode of operation. And if, as we have seen, he posses- 
ses divine attributes, he must be a divine person. 

Before closing the argument, we would advert to two 
passages of Scripture, which, on the subject of a Trinity 
of persons in the Godhead, seem to be irresistibly con- 
clusive. 

The first is the Savior's prescription of the form of 
baptism. This ordinance is to be administered " in the 
" name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
"Ghost." To say nothing of the absurdity of baptizing 
in the name of an attribute, can it possibly be conceived, 
that in this most solemn act of worship, a creature is asso- 
ciated with the living God ? Does not the prescription 
obviously imply that the subject of baptism is to be re- 
ligiously and everlastingly devoted to the honor and ser- 
vice of the mysterious three ? And does it not neces- 
sarily follow, that they are one in essence, and equal in 
glory. 

The other passage is that containing the form of apos- 
tolic benediction. " The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
46 and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy 
"Ghost be with you all." Here is a prayer ; and a prayer 
obviously addressed to Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, 
not less than to the Father. If Jesus Christ and the Ho- 
ly Spirit are not divine, the prayer was an act of idolatry. 
If it was an act of genuine and acceptable worship, as un- 
questionably it was, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are 
truly and properly divine. 

What, then, is the result of our whole enquiry ? It is 
this ; that the Scriptures of truth represent the Son and 
Holy Spirit as really distinct from the Father ; and yet, 
as bearing the same names, clothed with the same per- 
fections and prerogatives, performing the same works, 
and receiving the same worship. The Bible likewise as- 
sociates the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in a way which, 
while it obviously implies a personal distinction, implies 
not less obviously, an identity of nature, and an equality 
in dignity and glory. Hence we are warranted to assert 



31 



that the doctrine of the Trinity has the sanction of the 
infallible word of God.* 

Let not, then, the doctrine, however incomprehensible, 
be denied, or disbelieved. Were it asserted merely in a 
few obscure and disputed texts, such as its opposers might 
hope to invalidate, or explain away, its rejection might be 
less dangerous. But it is in-wrought in the very vitals of 
Christianitv. It meets us, in various forms, throughout 
the book of God. It claims the belief of all who would 
not reject the Bible. 

But it is asked ; Are we to believe what is self-contra- 
dictory ? Is it not absurd, and even impossible for ration- 
al creatures to believe what is contrary to reason'? We 
reply : No such thing is required. The doctrine of the 
Trinity is confessedly a mystery. Reason could never 
have discovered it. And when Revelation has presented 
it to the mind, reason cannot comprehend it. Still, is it 
not a plain dictate of reason itself, that in a Revelation 
from heaven ; a Revelation designed to instruct us re- 
specting the infinite Being ; mysteries might naturally be 
expected ? When they are found, therefore, it is perfectly 
rational to receive them. It is the highest act of reason 

* It is an indisputable fact, that a great majority of the plain, unlettered, 
unperverted readers of the Bible, have been believers in the Trinity. Nor 
can it be dissembled that the Antitrinitarian cause has been too frequently 
supported by laborious attempts, either to expunge those parts of Scripture 
which seem to favor the contrary scheme, or, if they are suffered to remain, 
to give them an unnatural and forced interpretation. A Socinian writer of 
the present day, warns his readers to be on their guard against what is called 
the natural signification of words and phrases. Smalcius, who wrote about 
two centuries since, holds a much bolder language. " We believe," says he, 
" that though we should find it, not once, nor twice, but frequently and most 
" expressly written in the Scripture, that God became man; it would be much 
" better, as it is an absurd proposition, and full of blasphemy, to invent some 
" way of speaking-, which might render it proper to be affirmed of God, rather 
" than to understand it in the literal sense." Such a mode of treating- the 
Bible is in the hig-hest degree absurd and arrogant ; not to say impious. 
What is it, but to desert the Scriptures, as the standard of truth ; and erect 
an altar to our own pride and self-sufficiency ? Cun it be thought strange that 
those who take this course, are involved in endless intricacies and errors ? 
The first — I had almost said, the only requisite to the right perusal of the 
word of God, and to the discovery of its great truths, is a humble, teachable 
mind ; a mind open to receive whatever eternal wisdom shall communicate. 
Such a mind cannot be ultimately left to embrace essential and destructive 
error. The God of truth has promised that the meek he will guide, in judg- 
ment ; (he meek he will teach his way. 



S2 



to receive them implicitly, and on the mere authority of 
God. He perfectly knows himself. And why should it 
be thought strange, that when he unfolds to us the mode 
of his own existence, it should be something perfectly 

NEW, SURPRISING, and INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO MORTALS ? Still, 

I repeat it, the doctrine before us is not, as some object, 
self-contradictory. It does not assert that three are one, 
in the same sense and respect in which they are three. 
It does not assert that three persons are one person, or 
three Gods, one God. It simply asserts that in the unity 
of the Godhead, there subsist a Father, a Son, and a Ho- 
ly Spirit. It nowhere precisely defines, nor requires us 
precisely to define, in what respects they are three, and 
in what respects they are one. This doctrine, then, stat- 
ed in its scriptural simplicity, is perfectly free from the 
charge of self-contradiction. All the absurdity which has 
been imputed to it, is in fact imputable to the misrepre- 
sentations, either of its enemies, or its injudicious friends. 

Let it, in the mean time, never be forgotten, that it 
concerns us all to know something more about this doc- 
trine, than merely that it is found in the Bible. We must 
find its truth in our habitual experience, or the most or- 
thodox speculations respecting it will profit us nothing. 
" He,' 9 says Bishop Taylor, " who goes about to speak of 
the mystery of the Trinity, and does it by words and 
names of man's invention ; talking of essences and exist- 
ences, hypostases and personalities, may amuse himself, 
and talk of something he knows not what : — but the good 
man, who feels the power of the Father, and to whom 
the Son is become wisdom, sanctification and redemption ; 
in whose heart the love of the Spirit of God is shed 
abroad; this man, and he alone, truly understands the 
Christian doctrine of the Trinity." 




Hollinger Corp. 
pH 8.5 



